3 Nets takeaways from 133-109 loss to Hawks

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NEW YORK -- The Brooklyn Nets (26-54) are nearing the end of a season that has been taxing in multiple ways, especially since the team returned from the All-Star Break. With their third-to-last game being against the Atlanta Hawks (38-42), Brooklyn had the chance to lock in and win in front of their fans the way they did on Tuesday, but they lost the chance early on.

The Nets lost to the Hawks133-109 after a first quarter that saw Atlanta win the period 33-14 thanks to a combination of Brooklyn shooting poorly and rookie Zaccharie Risacher going off for 13 of his 38 points in the period. Jalen Wilson led the way for the Nets with 20 points, four rebounds, and three assists off the bench while Tosan Evbuomwan contributed 18 points, six rebounds, and three assists to the cause.

While Trae Young had a good game with 24 points and 12 assists, Risacher stole the show with the way that he was scoring in what could have been his bid to possibly win the Rookie of the Year award. With that being said, here are three Nets takeaways from Thursday's loss to the Hawks:

Jalen Wilson​

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Wilson had one of his better games in some time as he couldn't miss from three-point range against a Hawks defense that did not get the memo about how well he was shooting the ball. Wilson's three-point shot has not been that effective this season (32.7%), but when he is making those shots, Brooklyn's offense benefits in a huge way and that shooting allows him to get to the other parts of his game.

Wilson was also able to generate four three-throws as he was able to use the threat of his three-pointer to get by his man and get to the basket like he tends to do when he is run off the three-point line. Not only did Wilson rebound the ball like he usually does, but he also made some nice passes after drawing attention on the fastbreak and during his drives into the paint.

Here's what Wilson had to say about how he remained focused in the face of the Nets being in blowout territory for the majority of the game:

"You just got to do your job, no matter what the scoreboard says. Whether we're up 20 (or) down 20, (there's) still things that we have to do. We're all here to get better every single game. You can't take a game for granted. No matter what the score is, we all have to do our job and what we do, and just try to do the best things we can to win."

Tosan Evbuomwan​

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Since April began, Evbuomwan has been one of the players receiving plenty of playing time as the season winds down to a close after a trying season. After Thursday's outing in which he put up 18 points, six rebounds, and three assists, Evbuomwan is now averaging 14.0 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game while shooting 48.8% from the field and 46.7% from three-point land over his last four games.

Evbuomwan brings a unique skill set to the Nets with his ability to play the power forward spot, and sometimes some small-ball center in unique circumstances, without Brooklyn needing to have another big man next to him. Evbuomwan also presents some unique matchups for opposing teams who may not have a player that can match Evbuomwan's physicality while being able to keep up with him on the perimeter.

While this game resulted in one of the worst losses that the Nets have suffered last season, head coach Jordi Fernandez pointed out the players that competed the way that he has asked his players to do:

"The bright spots were J-Will (Jalen Wilson) and Tyrese Martin are very good professionals. When they're their numbers are called, they're ready to play. You can tell they're locked in (when) their numbers called. They go and play, whether they've played the game before or not, because we're giving looks to these other guys, and they've done a great job the whole season. That's the attitude that I want. I would have wanted 10 guys with their professionalism and attitude and, being locked in ready to play. Unfortunately, we had two out of 10."

Tyson Etienne​

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Etienne is another player that has been seeing a massive bump in his playing time over the last four games and as expected, there have been some growing pains along the way. Etienne, who put up 16 points and two assists in 30 minutes against the Hawks while having to deal with Trae Young for the majority of his minutes, has not had the kind of shooting performance that he had been hoping for since getting more playing time with the Nets.

Etienne is just 9-of-32 (28.1%) from behind the three-point land and while he is getting some good looks, he is having trouble finding his touch to be more consistent from that range. The good news is that is the point of him seeing extended minutes this time of year and he has two more seasons to see if he can build some momentum heading into the offseason.

Over his last four games, Etienne is averaging 9.8 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game while shooting 31.6% from the field in 28.3 minutes per contest. If he can find his shooting touch that he had in the G League, 45.8% on 7.4 three-point attempts per game, Etienne could have a breakout game or two over the last couple of games of the season.

This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: 3 Nets takeaways from 133-109 loss to Hawks

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